AMC's Preacher Would Make Me Go To Church

If you've been living under a rock then you might have missed the onslaught of comic book and graphic novel adaptations that have been taking over the big screen as well as the small. This year we've already had four Marvel and DC releases in theatres with another two yet to arrive, as well as The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. On television Marvel and DC have a combined total of eleven on going series, not including shows that are yet to premiere as well as numerous others originating from other publishing houses. Preacher is a new edition to that list and as of right now it seems like a cut above the rest.

It has only aired three episodes so far and it already stands out from it's peers. It's in the Deadpool section of this comic book adaptation craze, it isn't shackled by political correctness or a younger skewing target audience. I was unfamiliar with the comic book series and only initially heard about it through Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg who were tapped to adapt it. I essentially grew up with the two and their stoner comedies, loving most of their efforts so much that I managed to write a six thousand word essay on drug comedies. No, I did not tell my tutor that they were the inspiration. The duo adapting the series intrigued me and I was looking forward to checking it out. It wasn't what I expected.

Surprisingly DC Television Seems To Be Doing Women Justice

So I watch comic book movies and television because watching movies and television is like second nature to me and comic book adaptations seem to be all there is right now. We have the powerhouse that is Marvel that takes over your local Vues, Odeons and Cineworlds for what feels like all year. The films are filled with so much testosterone that I wouldn't be surprised if I discovered I had another leg when leaving the cinema. Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) is the only significant female character in the universe that doesn't serve as a love interest, and she could easily head up her own solo movie but that is not likely to happen anytime soon. Or ever. Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) should be just as important in the franchise because she is essentially Nick Fury's second in command yet we rarely see her in the two films she has been featured in, if you blink you really do miss her. It pains me because Joss Whedon is heading it up the universe in name but sometimes it doesn't really feel like it, I'd expect a few more kick ass women from him. Who knows, maybe the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) might change matters in The Age Of Ultron but I think it takes more than a couple of scenes in one movie.

We also have Marvels Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. but I gave up on that after a couple of episodes, one of the main reasons being the female lead was so damn annoying. Yes, it may have changed a lot since episode two and I would like to try it out again at some point but it will probably be in the distant future. Marvels women may be sucking but a lot of the DC television adaptations seem to be doing them a lot more justice. Let's forget about Constantine because I've already aired my views on their women and I don't really want to get into that again because it will only annoy me even further. Other than Constantine we currently have Arrow, The Flash and Gotham currently on air which all feature and array of women that make me proud of my gender.

The CW Is On To A Winner With The Flash

Anyone who has the internet knows that the pilot of The Flash leaked a few weeks ago but I was putting off watching it purely because I didn't want to fall in love with it and have to wait till October to see the next episode. Last night the Devil on my shoulder won me over and now I really wish I hadn't watched it. It was bloody brilliant.

I'm a huge fan of Arrow so my anticipation for The Flash spin off was at a high, Arrow started off a little weak and frankly I, as well as many other viewers, was a little underwhelmed with it. I don't think anyone will be saying that The Flash was underwhelming at all, I'll even go as far as saying that I (currently) rank it higher than Arrow (I apologise for the continuous comparing but of course that is going to happen with a spin off). I feel the cast of The Flash is superior to Arrow, don't flame me but as much as I adore Stephen Amell he can be a bit wooden at times. Him and certain sisters and love interests in the show. Grant Gustin (Barry Allen) and the rest of the cast seem to have made their characters multi-faceted and the ones that interacted within the pilot have great chemistry with each other. Again, I still love Arrow and most of the characters.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier Is The Best Marvel Film

A friend of mine watched X-Men: Days of Future Past and was sooooo 2010 about it that he updated his status saying that it was the best Marvel film that had been released. I liked the status because I thought he was being sarcastic as the X-Men movie rights are owned by Fox, not Marvel. I figured that this was general knowledge, not geeky knowledge. As I scrolled through the comments I realised I was wrong. He genuinely meant that Days of Future Past was the best Marvel film. I did enjoy watching the film but recently I re watched Captain America: The Winder Soldier and I completely disagree with him. The Winter Soldier is hands down the best Marvel film.

I probably wouldn't have felt this way 10 years ago, but in 2014 I certainly do, the major reason being comic book movie fatigue. Yes it is a real thing, not some sort of made up disorder. Think about it, we have multiple comic book movies coming out every single year and it does get a bit much. I'm not saying that I don't watch them because I really really do, but I used to go opening weekend and be pretty psyched about it and discuss for weeks on end afterwards. I can't currently remember the last time I went and saw a comic book movie opening weekend, I just don't get excited enough to do that anymore. I watch them out of habit and to be honest I don't think I'd care too much if I waited for the DVD's rather than shell out £12 to watch it in the cinema. I mean we all know whats going to happen in the movie right? Every film has the same structure and nothing really changes.

Ben Affleck Braving Comic Book Territory Once Again

A couple of days ago when I heard that Ben Affleck had been cast as the new Batman in the Batman Vs. Superman I was ready to bust a gut and write a scathing post about it. I'd discussed before about how I didn't really want another incarnation of Batman so soon after Bales, and I figured I wouldn't really be accepting of any casting decisions so why would you listen to me? My opinion is biased right?

Well, I've had time to think about it and I think he could actually be ok. I know most people are throwing Daredevil out there as a reason for him to not be Batman, but come on, it wasn't just him involved in that film, I'd actually go as far as saying he had little to no say in it. So how on Earth can he take the blame for that atrocity? Think it through. Affleck's reputation to a major hit after the Daredevil film, I'm pretty sure the other bombs he was in didn't help but in recent years he has gained a significant amount of credibility due to his producing, writing, directing and acting, he has become a true auteur. Because of this I don't think that he would attach himself to the film/franchise if he had any doubts about it, he must actually have faith in the character, and I think he'll probably have a say in the direction that he would like the character to go. And would he really sign onto another comic book movie if he didn't feel it was worth it? Even though I don't like the idea of rebooted the character so quickly I'm willing to give Ben Affleck a chance, and I think you should to. Also, he did this:




How could you not give this guy a chance? Live Long and Blog!

Related posts

Superman And Batman United! Is It Really A Good Thing?

X-Men And Fantastic Four Share The Big Screen?

Comic book movies are all the rage nowadays, I mean we've blogged about it on numerous occasions but can we all just admit that the Fantastic Four and certain X-Men films were rubbish? That's not opinion, it's fact! And now we have the news that the Fantastic Four reboot will feature in the same universe as X-Men. *sigh*. Why? Just why? I'm not saying that they can't be in a universe together because they clearly can.

NERDGASM ALERT: The Rant of A Fan-Boy

Small bit of news came out recently, it’s hardly worth mentioning to be honest, but as a contributor on this site I feel I should report any bit of information great or small and give my  own personal opinion on it. All teasing aside; the biggest and best possible news for me as a comic book fan was released at the annual Comic Con this summer. Superman will face Batman in what is surely going to be the closest contender to topping The Avengers in terms of scale and sheer fan-boy expectations. What makes this crossover particularly appealing is the fact that both respective film characters haven’t been ruined. Yet.

               

Personally as I was watching The Dark Knight Rises last year it was very hard to imagine another universe outside the one created by Christopher Nolan, such was the genius behind the characters and the story, it just felt that there was no other alternative option for any comic book film. Nothing could top it. When I heard this news I like many people got giddy with excitement, the prospect of Superman AND Batman slugging it out was impossible around 6 or 7 years back. But alas, here we are. I don’t like to pour praise on a single person too much, but rescuing Batman from the brink of oblivion after the Joel Schumacher “adventures”, and producing in my opinion the best Superman film since the very first, is nothing short of a miracle.  Man of Steel was fantastically acted, shot, you name it, it had it. It was the perfect way of showing that the character and the story still had life in it. Henry Cavill in particular impressed me as he seemed to fit naturally into the role, more so than his predecessor Brandon Routh in my opinion. This gives me hope for this cross-over film as I feel the benefit of a strong leading actor like Cavill can hold his own with the likes of the actor’s from the Batman universe.

Is Hollywood Watering Down It's Movies For Pre-Teens?

I got home last night to find an interesting post on my Facebook page:

"Food for thought, are R-rated films becoming extinct due to the more profitable PG/PG-13 films. Its one of the reasons Deadpool is stuck in developmental hell, Robocop is now PG-13. Nowadays its risky to commit to an R-rated film or a potential R-rated franchise. Films like Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Carribean & Twilight are to blame for the declining interest from studios for R-rated films."

I hadn't really thought too much about it, but I do agree whole-heartedly. Naturally theres always been a market for films geared towards children but I'd never thought about how it affected films that are garnered towards a more adult audiences, of which Deadpool is a prime example. The character featured in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and was given minimal screen time, even though he is a major character within the Marvel franchise and has had several comic book series' devoted to him. The character should have had a MUCH larger role within the film (only one of the many things wrong with the film) but his background was never fully explored because of its dark nature. He was used as a cool looking villain in the PG film, and I feel that devalues the character completely! He SHOULD have a film devoted to him after the initial abysmal outing because it would be a great story to tell, and my buddy is correct about it being stuck in development hell because it's way too risky for studios nowadays.

Superman And Batman United! Is It Really A Good Thing?

So, some more news from the grapevine, Superman and Batman will be sharing the big screen.

Yep. We kind of knew it was happening but I didn't expect it so soon, I figured we would have to wait till the Justice League movie but apparently Batman will make an appearance in the Man Of Steel sequel. Before I actually watched Man Of Steel this news would've excited me, but now I feel that they are clasping at straws. Warner Bros. are trying to compete with Marvel, and why the hell shouldn't they? Marvel have done well and Warner Bros. have both the storylines and resources to compete.

And The Villain In The Avengers Sequel Is...

*Spoilers ahead, i'll try not to put too many in*

Comic Con brings us a lot, we've gotten The Amazing Spiderman 2 teaser trailer already and been and been given the title for the sequel of one of the biggest movies of all time. In the Summer of 2015 we will all be rushing into our local cinema's to watch The Avengers: Age Of Ultron. If the title didn't give the plot line away enough Joss Whedon confirmed that it will follow the storyline of the Age Of Ultron comic mini series. I won't go into the details of the comic too much so you're not completely spoiled, but I will tell you that the planet is under attack (obviously) and features a lot more of The Avengers (many of which Marvel don't have the film rights to), which is probably why Quicksilver has been recruited and we'll probably have an onslaught of casting news before the film begins filming next year. Oh right, If you hadn't already figured it out, the villain is Ultron!

A Black Human Torch?

Hot on the heels of the gay Spidey talk there is now talk of having a Black Human Torch (a.k.a Johnny Storm) in the Fantastic Four reboot. You know that reboot everyone totally wanted to happen after the last Oscar worthy films? Yep, that's actually happening with actor Michael B. Jordan in consideration for the role of Johnny Storm. I'm not going to judge him and tell you whether he would be good or bad for the role because I know nothing about him, I don't ever recall watching him in anything so I'm not the most qualified person to discuss that. What I will discuss is the headlines, it doesn't point Jordan out as a front runner for the role but instead says things like "Black actor in contention for the role of the Human Torch". I understand the irony of me bringing that up seeing as though my headline addresses the race of the actor being mentioned.

The Amazing Spiderman 2 Teaser Trailer!

I freaking love comic con! I've wanted to go for years but never managed to because, you know, im poor. But youtube makes me feel like im there!!!! I spend hours on it after the con, just watching panels and any teasers that I may find but they are usually crappy quality, which is why I was so excited to find this:



I love spiderman. I love The Amazing Spiderman. I love Jamie Foxx. OH MY GOD IT'S HERE. I've watched it five times now and I'm completely pumped! I want Sony to take my money right now! I love comic con. The only thing horrible about this is that the film isn't out till next year, so we will be teased for a whole year before we see the end product. It certainly beats The Amazing Spiderman's last comic con teaser of the CGI spidey, I mean what a disappointment. Again, thank you Comic Con!

I'm probably going to go and hibernate until next Summer, so Live Long and Blog!

Related Posts

And The Villain In The Avengers Sequel Is...

Superman And Batman United! Is It Really A Good Thing?

Supernatural Summoning A Spin-Off
The Walking Dead: My Quick Trailer Review
All Hail The New Spider-Man!

Gay Spiderman?

In a recent interview Andrew Garfield said that he would like Spiderman to be gay, and perhaps MJ be a man in the new series. It got me thinking, why not? For some reason people still haven't got over the Raimi trilogy so when MJ does pop up in the Amazing series people are going to be so judgemental and won't accept her (which I don't get because Kirsten Dunst wasn't exactly great). And even without the previous trilogy Sony would never be able to make all the fans happy because MJ is so hard to live up to. I firmly believe that if when they do bring MJ in they should do it after Gwen Stacy has died and Emma Stone should play her too, I think she's the only person that can pull it off. So basically I wouldn't be happy either.